FAIR IN THE MAKING: 'If it weren't for clogging, I don't think I'd be here'

Jackie Cole, center, practices the choreography Wednesday with the Mulekicker Cloggers in the Plum Room at Fulton State Hospital. Cole has been dancing with the group since 1994. “It keeps me alive,” she said. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2002. “If it weren’t for clogging, I don’t think I’d be here,” she said.
|Tatiana Fernandez

Gabriel Brink, 9, Linda Kronk's grandson visiting from South Dakota, watches his grandmother, front left, and the other Mulekicker Cloggers rehearse Wednesday in the Plum Room at Fulton State Hospital. The group has been rehearsing every Wednesday since they started dancing more than 25 years ago.
|Tatiana Fernandez

The Mulekicker Cloggers have been dancing to some of the same songs since their creation, but they also like to include new choreography in their mix. This year, at the Boone County Fair, they will be dancing to Train's pop song "Hey, Soul Sister."
|Tatiana Fernandez

Jackie Cole and Pam Wright enjoy the air from the fan while standing in position before rehearsing their next dance. Cole said she prefers not to wear a wig because it is hot, it messes up her glasses’ temples and it makes her cap not fit over her head. “People are more friendly when you don’t have hair,” she added.
|Tatiana Fernandez

A Mulekicker Cloggers sticker decorates the back of Cole's car. All the members have this sticker on their vehicles.
|Tatiana Fernandez

Cole gets chemotherapy July 3 at the Jefferson City Medical Group. She has been going in for treatment every Tuesday for the past four years. "This is my second family," Cole said about the nurses.
|Tatiana Fernandez

Cole and Mary Keeney, oncology social worker for Ali Khojasteh, laugh at one of Cole's jokes. “I’m Mrs. Clean!” Cole said making a reference to the hairless man in the cleaning solution’s logo. "And she's Mrs. Wonderful," she then said about Keeney.
|Tatiana Fernandez

Cole puts up her feet toward the end of her chemotherapy session. Her feet can't reach the floor. "This chair... I ain't sitting here anymore unless they put something to push me forward!" she said.
|Tatiana Fernandez

The Mulekicker Cloggers have been dancing together for more than 25 years. One of the group's members, Jackie Cole, has credited dancing to keeping her alive through her battle with cancer.¦Tatiana Fernandez

Cole is one of ten members of the Mulekicker Cloggers from Fulton. The group has been practicing routines every Wednesday night since its creation more than 25 years ago.

Cole joined the group in 1994. Back then, she had long hair.

She lost it in 2006 after starting a second round of treatment when her cancer came out of remission. She prefers not to wear a wig because it is hot, it messes up her glasses’ temples and it makes her cap not fit over her head.

"People are more friendly when you don’t have hair," she said. She is more comfortable being bald. “I’m Mrs. Clean!” she said, a reference to the hairless man in the cleaning solution’s logo.

At the Jefferson City Medical Group, the nurses all get a laugh with Cole when she goes in for her chemotherapy every Tuesday.

“She’s my entertainer of the year,” Barb Spencer, registered nurse, said of Cole.

She has been coming in for treatment for four years now. Her sister, Reva Hoover, accompanies her every time.

Cole first joined the group after being introduced to it by her brother, Larry Martin. Martin is the only man in the bunch. Guys have come in and out of the group throughout the years, but Martin has been the only one to stick around.